Ever a Changing Leaf
by Dragongrdian
Summary: The first novel in the Flames of Fury RP Series. When Beow, a halfling, started a new revolution against the creatures of darkness, he didn't realize just how much trouble he was getting himself and his companions into...
1. Prolouge

For a thousand years, peace reigned on the pastoral lands of Urak. Then forces of darkness, led by the evil sorcerer Balkoth, unleashed a nightmare of war and terrorism that destroyed the people and laid waste to the land. Now the cities are defenseless. The people are starving. The Great Temples of the land, once the centers of beauty and learning lie crumbling, overrun by worshippers of Balkoth. The people pray for a leader who can defeat Balkoth and end the nightmare.  
  
"I heard you were the best, of the best." Balkoth sneered. The dark elf's features stood out in the lamplight. Horns protruded from the top of his head in a diablo-like fashion, curling behind his head. Rough and matted hair, much resembling tarantulas, creeped down into the shadows of his cloak and disappeared. His nose seemed to be flat, as if it was smashed against a rock at an early age. His eyes were the most terrifying. Slanted, and holding an eerie glow, like a dragon, the eyes seemed to be capable of putting a hex on anyone. But not this creature. The Amazon woman brushed off Balkoth's sneer without a second thought.  
  
"Thank you for the compliment sir, but I have other appointments, and I need to know what or who you want taken care of." Balkoth smiled, bearing his pointed teeth. " Right to the point, I like that." He stared deep into the assassin's eyes, searching for any weaknesses she might have. Satisfied at not finding any, he approached a cupboard and continued. "Well, I need you to eliminate someone for me, a thorn in my side if you will. If you succeed in eliminating him, the reward shall be yours." He opened the cupboard's doors and a blinding light surged into the tent.  
  
The woman, who goes by the name of Katula, smiled at the sight of the golden artifacts. She could easily trade this on the Black Market for better equipment. She took her eyes away from the treasure and faced Balkoth with the utmost seriousness. "Just name the one and he's done for."  
  
The woman was of her early twenties, with enchantingly green eyes, and dark brown hair. Her clothes were made of dragon scales, and light leather. Balkoth examined her clothing when she arrived, and spotted dirt and blood stains all over her thighs and arms. He heard of this assassin's accomplishment from his right-hand man, who said she was the lovely woman who had destroyed the Elven nation up north, and has never failed at an assignment. Unfourtunently, his right hand man was charged as a spy and was sacrificed last full moon. However, the information had intrigued the dark elf, and so he decided to meet this young assassin.  
  
"Very well," Balkoth closed the doors and locked it with a skeleton key. He slid the key in his pocket and turned to give her assignment. "He's a hafling named Beow. He seems to have started a rebellion against me. Pitiful as it may seem," he clenched his fists. "The little wretch has done some major damage." Katula nodded, as she comprehended Balkoth's story. "I can't have people like that messing with my affairs."  
  
Balkoth collected some maps from a near by table and laid it out in front of Katula. "He has appeared in these locations," Balkoth pointed to the coordinates on the map with his claw. "It appears he has a liking for the forests." Katula scanned the map, then looked up at Balkoth. "Consider it done, I'll return with his head on a silver platter." Katula picked up her spear from the side of her chair, and slung it onto her back. Balkoth watched her go to leave and said, "Do not fail me." The assassin turned and bowed, "On my honor as an assassin, Beow will bother you no longer." With that, she turned, and left.  
  
As the flaps to his battle tent closed, Balkoth cackled, his skull earrings jiggling madly. "Good, Good. All is going according to plan..." 


	2. Attack in the Night

Beow silently walked through the hallways in the Earth Temple. The hafling seemed to bounce with every step he took, as if humming merrily to himself. Another successful victory against Balkoth's forces was achieved not too long ago. With the help of an elderly warlock, and some 27 something dwarves, Beow had slain a dark calvary, south of the city of Klay, and managed to prevent them from setting the Earth's Theive's Guild aflame.  
  
With this in his mind, a plan to set forth-another wave of resistance into the marshes to the southwest was beginning to form in the little halfling's mind. A clump of glowing moss passed overhead. Beow took a right and continued down the dank and dark tunnel.  
  
Beow was a hafling, and a born leader. He was short for his race, and wore a dark green cloak, a yellow hat on his head, and carried a reed bow and dagger. His dagger was given to him as a gift from an Elven princess long ago. Its magical properties have always helped him in the past, and hopefully will protect him in the future.  
  
All was silent except for his own breathing and the hollow sound of his steps on the stone floor. He was just thinking of Balkoth's Brewery Trade Route when he suddenly stopped. He heard footsteps behind him. Not the usual pitter-patter of gnome scholars or dwarven warriors, no. These footsteps where heavier, much heavier even though he could detect how soft they actually were. The hafling slid into a slide corridor and waited quietly.  
  
Katula, hidden in the shadows, turned a corner and found the hallway empty. This may become somewhat of a challenge, she thought. She had been following him for almost an hour now, and she marveled at how he was able to hear her. The Amazon woman could have snagged the hafling earlier, but due to his sharp turns, and backtracks through this underground maze, her hunger to kill would have to wait a little longer.  
  
She slowly crept down the passageway, checking every possible route. One such corridor intrigued her. She approached with caution, watching the darkness for any signs of movement. "GOTCHA!" Beow jumped out from behind her, grabbed her, and held his dagger up to her neck. "Who are you, and who do you work for?!" The hafling said calmly, almost seeming bored. "I... have... no. Desire... to... answer... you!" the assassin spat through strained breathing.  
  
As the last word came out, she grabbed the knife, and flung Beow over her head and onto the ground. She then leapt back and grabbed her spear, "I will tell you one thing." Katula smiled. "And what might that be?" Beow said, brushing off the dirt on his cloak. Katula almost chuckled, "I've been sent to kill you, and I will not fail." Beow sighed, sending a cloud of dust and dirt, obviously stating he missed a spot. "Fine with me, Balkoth's assassins are sent by the dozen, yet they are all inexperienced."  
  
Katula laughed, "As true as that my be, I will not be defeated so easily." The hafling stood upright and brought out his knife and began to examine it. "Ok then, don't say I haven't warned you, but...are you sure you are on the right side?" Katula gave it a moment's thought, then decided to let it go. Seeing that Katula didn't flinch, Beow crouched low into a fighter's stance his father taught him. Katula twirled her spear in return. "Prepare to meet your doom, you blubbering rodent!" and with that, she screeched and jumped into the fight, spear drawn...  
  
Beow saw the assassin leap towards him. He quickly blocked the spear before it could slice him in two. Katula retreated her attack and jumped backward. He's got skills...She twirled her spear above her head, and made a motion with her hand. Beow noted the sign of death the assassin had made, only a certain clan of Amazon's ever used that sign upon their prey. However honored Beow was by this rare occasion, he preferred to live and never to have seen it, then be a witness to it, let alone be the true victim.  
  
Then, without warning, Katula's body shifted to the opposite direction then the hafling had anticipated, and whirled next to him. He had only leapt out of the way, when she made her killing blow, but instead of slicing off his head, the hafling's quick reaction caused him to receive a deep, clean gash on his side.  
  
Beow winced as the cut burned. "This is going to leave a mark," he moaned. The hafling stood up and saw Katula preparing for another dash attack. He braced himself and gripped his dagger tightly. The assassin exploded forward and became nothing but a blur.  
  
As the halfling gripped his dagger, time itself seemed to slow down. The dagger began to pump warmth and strength into the little hafling's body, clearing all his senses and giving him full concentration on what he was about to do.  
  
Acting as quick as lightning, Beow ran forward to meet his opponent. This threw Katula off guard, but not as much as what the hafling did. Beow jumped downward, feet first, and slammed into Katula's knees, causing her to buckle, loose balance and fall forward. The hafling saw an opening in Katula's armor, and plunged the knife into her chest.  
  
Katula's mouth opened for a soundless shriek, as she felt pain beyond belief pierce through her body and sear through her heart. Her body hit the ground, full on, bruising the entire length of her body. He body began to twitch and wither as the pain increased, her eyes turning grayish-white, and the dagger-wound burning like a forest-fire.  
  
Beow stood up, hip burning, and looked at the creature on the floor with pity. He hated to watch creatures in pain and agony, but it's a killed or be killed world, and there's only so much a hafling can do. He turned away, and began to clean his wound, when he finally heard stillness behind him. He turned and found the assassin dead.  
  
Katula's whole body was cold from the inside out, all chilled to the bone with the sickness of death. Suddenly, warmth thawed her heart, and filled her veins. Katula's lungs became full of air as she made a loud gasping noise. Beow leapt out of his skin. She was still alive!  
  
Katula's vision cleared, and her brain began to perceive what she was seeing. The enemy. She pushed herself off the ground and slowly towered over the halfling, and smirked. The woman enjoyed the look of fear and wonder on her target's face. However, she couldn't help but wonder herself. What was that? She knew faintly of her mother's magical blood, even studying some of her spells, but she knew nothing of what just happened.  
  
Katula's eyes had an icy rage storming about as she pulled out the dagger without showing any pain on her face, and picked up her spear. "Seems you're not the only one with magic, the other assassins probably didn't have it either, which is why they were pushovers," she said in an enchanting tone of voice. Her spear began to glow a bright shade of blue. "Impressive," the hafling replied. Katula smirked again and tossed Beow his weapon. He caught it and gave her that said, "I've only just warmed up".  
  
Beow charged forward, glowing dagger in hand. Katula followed, and the two met, clanging weapons their weapons together. The halls exploded with a brilliant light, followed by a mighty gust of wind, shaking the whole temple, and sending dust down from the ceiling.  
  
I can see why Balkoth couldn't kill this guy himself...She pushed harder on her spear, and managed to force Beow to take a step back. Katula then thrusted the spear forward with all her might, knocking Beow over, and jumped into the air, spear pointed down.  
  
Beow began to sweat as he saw Katula move in slow motion. "This can't be good," he mumbled. The assassin dropped, Beow rolled, and the spear struck the earth where he lay but two seconds before. The halfling recovered, and found Katula trying to get her weapon out of the ground. He took a chance and lunged forward.  
  
Katula saw him coming and acted quickly. Using her spear as leverage, she swung herself around and behind Beow and kicked him in the back. Beow lost his grip on the knife and lost it in his flight through the air, and he skid along the floor a few feet.  
  
Katula laughed and pulled out her spear. "You're not so tough after all now, are you?" She walked up to the halfling and brought her spear above her head and brought it down, aiming for Beow's back. Suddenly, the hafling flipped onto his back and threw a handful of dirt into her eyes. Katula recoiled and shrieked as the bits of rock and sand scratched her eyes. Beow made a break for the Temple exit.  
  
Making it twenty-yards, the halfling seemed hopeful, then a whooshing sound was heard, followed by the appearance of a spearhead, sticking out of his chest. The halfling fell to his knees, finally worn out. Numbness crept to his hands and through his intestines, as magic began to freeze his skin and intestines from the wound.  
  
Katula walked over to his body, and jerked the spear out of the frozen carcass. "I promised Balkoth it would be your head. Now look what you made me go and do." She chuckled and started to tend to her wound. 


	3. Events of Twilight

Illarion played his flute softly among the willow's roots. The little orange puff dancing dreamily at his feet was the elf's best friend and pet kit, Nadya. She continued to dance, her tail swirling around her like a ballroom gown, cooing as she went.  
  
A breeze fluttered the willow's branches which swayed to and fro, sending shadows onto the two guests resting beneath her welcoming leaves, flowing to the ground like a curtain of silk. The great willow tree was honored to have such performers in her home, resting to the soothing song the elf played.  
  
Nature has always welcomed the company of elves; the two always sharing a special bond that none could break. The elvish music also entranced animals, such as Nadya, causing them to become calm and relaxed.  
  
As the elf slowly finished his song, the braches slowed to a stop, and the glowing apricot twirled one last time, before doing what looked like a curtsey. Illarion removed the flute from his lips and rested his head against the smooth trunk of the willow. This was his secret spot where he came to rest and gaze upon Klay.  
  
The city of Klay was a second home to the elf. At a very young age, his father had disowned him after being kicked out of three knight schools. So, the elf decided to live the easy life of a carefree thief/mercenary. It was not long before he met his partner in crime, Nadya. After much training, Illarion had managed to teach the kit how to pick pocket and look cute and fuzzy at the same time. However, his life became quite dull after awhile. That is before he met Beow Shortgrass.  
  
As Illarion and Nadya entered the Earth Faith Capital City, he immediately set his eyes on an easy target to prey on for lodgings. Too bad he chose to pick-pocket a pick pocketer. The halfling caught him red handed, but instead of reporting the elf to the authorities, he marveled at the elf's skills and introduced him to a rebellious organization called Watchfoot. It was a guild of oddballs and weirdo's whose exotic skills were used to counter evil, and hopefully one day, destroy it once and for all.  
  
Of course the elf agreed and became very fond of the halfling. However, as Illarion was a new recruit to the guild, he was placed under a grumpy, old gnome named Gnimish. The gnome, strict as he was, whipped the young elf lad into a stealthy, intelligent, elflord.  
  
'As a matter of fact,' he thought to himself. 'I wonder where he is right now? Probably nagging Beow's ears off.' The elf chuckled silently. Good Times. Good Times.  
  
The air was hazy and accompanied by wisps of smoke from several tobacco pipes. The owner of such a pipe happened to be a scholar. The gnome wizard, Gnimish, looked out of place in such a dirty place. His face was clean except for a beard sprouting from round his mouth, his clothing tucked in and washed; his hair was tidy and his hat bright. As clean and tidy as he was, what was he doing in a run down, age worn, foul smelling pit as this?  
  
"What'll it be stranger?" a porky halfling gruffed. Gnimish wondered how the mugs were supposed to be clean when the halfling was wiping it with a dirty rag as black as night. "Do you happen to have any wine?" Gnimish replied, removing his pipe and glancing at the smudged mug that was slammed in front of him.  
  
"Wine? Well, le'see," the bartender struggled to turn around and had to suck in his gut to reach the shelves behind him. He scanned the shelves and came upon a dusty shelf full of cobwebs and dark bottles. "Yep, we have 'um." he picked up the wine and wiped the dust off with his now darker rag.  
  
Gnimish examined the wine bottle that was placed in front of him. The label was written in an older elvish language, apparently given to the dwarves as a gift from the old Creek War, which occurred over two thousand years ago. Age must have given this particular wine its dark ruby color.  
  
The glass clanked as the halfling clumsily poured the ruby tinted wine into it. The bartender stopped, leaving the glass half-full and charged Gnimish full price. "I beg your pardon?" The bartender again demanded full price, with a harsh grunt. The old scholar gave up and handed the halfling three gold coins. The porky creature seemed satisfied and shuffled off to another customer, taking the wine bottle with him. "I'll get those barbarians..."Gnimish muttered.  
  
As if taunting him, the table behind him burst into jovial laughter and merriment. The stout gnome responded in an unpleasant manner. The dwarves behind him ignored their leader and continued to chatter amongst themselves. They talked of home, and of their spoils they had collected on their journey with Gnimish.  
  
The dwarves were professional Axe-throwers, trained in the Military Barracks for twelve years. They all shared the typical hairstyle of a warrior, and had duel hand-axes on either side of their belts. Gnimish did not approve of company, but his commander insisted on bringing them along. He had to admit they weren't so bad after all. A little sleep, a little brew, and BAM! They're ready for anything.  
  
Gnimish joined Beow's forces after a clan of orcs raided his tower and stole his precious books, leaving the gnome with nothing. Beow, being a young lad at the time, took him in and promised the gnome that he will find his books. Now, after so many years of searching, Gnimish's books still haven't been found. Every time Gnimish had an opportunity of going on a mission, he believed that one mission would fulfill his quest, and the search for his books would be over. No such luck. So, after succeeding in yet another mission but failing his goal, Gnimish decided to spend the night in Klay, and let his dwarves get a drink.  
  
The wine touched his lips with pure elegance, and calmly flowed down his throat. Gnimish lowered the glass and twirled the rest of the wine in its glass. "1159, a good year..." The gnome was surprised at the taste. Pure Elven wine, no better wine in the world.  
  
He was about to order another drink, when a distant horn blew. Everyone froze. The call was the distinct mark of battle. Half the bartender's customers were part of Gnimish's group, so on hearing the horn, half the bar became empty as the dwarves (and among them Gnimish) swarmed through the great oak door and out to the street, leaving half finished beers behind.  
  
Illarion shaded his eyes as he stepped out from under the willow's branches. It would be dark soon, and around here the nights are darker during the spring season. Then something appeared in the elf's keen eyesight.  
  
On top of the lush green hills, little dots appeared. 'That's strange.'' In seconds the dots formed a line detail, surrounding the northern side of the city. Shouts of command echoed off the valley walls, making it sound as if all the citizens of Urak had arrived.  
  
Setting down his flute, Illarion stood up above the branches to get a clearer view. Hundreds upon thousands of orcs, goblins, and wolves barked, grunted and hollered, all waiting eagerly for the command to attack.  
  
Illarion quickly counted the odds. This was not going to end well. "I've got to help!" he said, pulling out his boomerang, the metal glinting menacingly in the sunlight. He had to protect his home, no matter what the cost.  
  
Gnimish gasped at the sight. Beyond the earthen buildings, and out of the city's borders, there lay hundreds upon thousands of orcs, goblins, and wolves, infesting the rolling green hills that usually welcomed the city every morning when the sun peaked over the top, and flowed down into the valley where the city lay.  
  
"This can't be good," mumbled Gnimish, as he readjusted his bag of spell components. The dwarves grunted and got into battle formation, blocking the street with their smelly bodies, and pulling out their axes.  
  
Gnimish's palms sweated as he waited for the next horn call. As he looked, the marauding army stood unflinching, almost as organized as an army of the Order faith, waiting to be called forth. The gnome took a step back and moved his palm facing forward, ready to cast his spell. The horn blew.  
  
Fire rained the sky as goblin archers lit their arrows and set homes, buildings, and even innocent by-standers aflame. Soon the city was in panic until dwarves in red uniforms began to shout orders to the people and each other to put out the fires. Gnimish's party ignored the pandemonium around them, and focused on the situation at hand.  
  
The little wizard grabbed some spell components from his pouch and threw them up in the air. "Serith ogan le hash!" Gnimish shouted, and a breeze swept the components towards the enemy's front-line.  
  
The breeze calmed and the components gently drifted to the ground, causing one Goblin to pause and watch it fall to the ground. Immediately, charging orcs, wolves, and goblins screamed and made a bloody gurgling sound as stalagmites shot up from the ground, and surrounded Klay as a protective wall.  
  
Gnimish relaxed as his spell worked effectively and snorted. "That should hold 'um!" His axe throwers seemed bored with their leader's power, as they have seen it many times, but were grateful that their enemy has decreased greatly.  
  
A brownie, which was jumping about frantically trying to get the attention of a red dwarf, knocked Gnimish into a muddy puddle. "Ooops...Sorry!" it squeaked. Gnimish grumbled some more, causing brown bubbles to come up from the area around his mouth.  
  
Gnimish stood up; ignoring the brownie's apologizes, and noticed that his hat was gone. He found it submerged in the muddy puddle, and with a look of disgust, wiped off the mud and placed his hat gently on top of his head.  
  
Suddenly, a loud, resounding crunch tore through the air. Everyone looked down the street and saw the stalagmites crack, then shatter into pieces of rubble. As the dust cleared, three silhouettes emerged from the side beyond, and revealed themselves as rock trolls.  
  
Gnimish plucked up some elk leaves from his pouch and mumbled something under his breath. A large boulder appeared with a loud popping noise and hurtled down the street towards the creatures. The trolls cried out in surprise as the boulder rammed into them, sending all three flying backwards through the hole which they had just created, and taking out the front flanks of their army. To Gnimish's relief, he had destroyed their raider's only trolls.  
  
The dwarves charged forward as the rest of the raiding army ran through the gap like water surging through a hole in a boat. Each dwarf pulled out an axe and hacked at anything that was green, filling the air with cold steel and flesh. Goblins replied by thrashing out with their swords. Some goblin archers even decided to clunk dwarves on the head when they got too close.  
  
The battle raged on, and having had time to prepare, the townsfolk managed to pick up axes, bows, and even furniture to cripple the army's flanks and save their homes. Lucky for them all, a water mage happened to be inside the city and helped put out the fires along with the red dwarves.  
  
Once night had fallen, everyone examined the results of battle. Homes were smoking; bodies lay everywhere, and the awful reek of the dead filled their nostrils. Gnimish sat down on a boulder and collapsed. The people of Klay had won. If it hadn't been for Gnimish and other mage's magic, the city would have been engulfed with blood and the dead.  
  
Looking up at the stars, Gnimish praised the gods that he was among the living, and that he shall live to see another day. 


	4. The Meeting

Illarion cleaned his boomerang. He had been slaughtering the Orc army from behind while Gnimish took the front. He managed to get 274 orcs and 24 goblins. Not much, but he got their too late.  
  
After emerging from the forest, the battle had already taken place for the most part. Gnimish was hurling spells into the front lines, while other citizen's of Klay took out those who got too near. Watching from afar, Illarion was shocked as thousands of stalagmites surrounded the city.  
  
The stalagmites killed many, but became a weak barrier as rock trolls stepped in. Making this his cue, the elf pulled out his boomerang and slayed those from behind.  
  
It came quite a shock for the little scavengers as a demonic bird was beheading their rearsmen. Illarion had silently pulled out his bow as the "demonic bird" was among battle. Slowly aiming at a goblin's rear temple, the elf calculated the windspeed, and shot his arrow straight through the goblin's skull.  
  
And so the afternoon came and went, and so did many one's head. Whether boomerang or arrow killed a goblin, all surpassed the pain of a wounded skull. Illarion had walked back into the forest as the rest of Klay's townsfolk rounded up the remaining survivors. He caught his boomerang as it flew overhead and hooked it onto his belt.  
  
Finding the willow tree once more, Illarion set up camp at the base of its trunk and called for Nadya. The kit happily greeted her master and decided to lie next to him, warming up next to the fire.  
  
Illarion plucked a chunk of bone of the edge of the boomerang and threw it over his shoulder. He had handcrafted the boomerang out of maple, and molded a thin sliver of steel down the front of it for beheading opponents. He had worked four years into making his weapon, he didn't need a lousy piece of bone to get wedged between blade and wood, and eventually crack his masterpiece for being under too much pressure.  
  
Keeping the quiver all to herself, Nadya decided to climb inside and take a short nap when something filled her nostrils with a beautiful, but deadly scent. Someone was here. Nadya started barking and yelping to get her master's attention. There was no need.  
  
Illarion had already caught a brief ripple on the corner of his eye. Moving quickly, Illarion snatched the person out of thin air, and thrusted a knife to her neck. A cloak of stealth dropped to the ground revealing the woman's leather outfit. Her hair was jet-black and fell down past her shoulders. Her face was of magnificent beauty, and her eyes were like glowing ashes.  
  
"Who do you work for, assassin?" the elf spat. The woman's face hardened and she flipped Illarion over her head and onto his back. "Correction. I am a Ninja." her voice was like a gentle creek calmly flowing down a mountainside at the beginning of spring. Illarion slowly stood up to face the "ninja".  
  
"Well whoever you are, what do you want?" he moved his dagger to his right hand. The woman shifted to a fighter's stance. "I am Fiora, Ninja of Charcoal," she began, smiling. "I was sent to retrieve all those in allegiance with the one so-called Beow."  
  
Illarion's eyes swelled. "What do you want?" he said, but before he could make another move, he was flat on his back looking up at the stars. The woman stood over him and laughed. "What does it matter? It's futile to try and escape. Your lack of coordination makes you weak." She extended her hand towards Illarion but he refused.  
  
He stood up once more." I'm listening," he said. Fiora opened her mouth but was interrupted by a loud scream filling the woods. Looking around, the duo spotted a shapeless figure appearing out of the sky. He seemed to be cackling with glee as he came closer. Fiora recognized the facial features on its "face" and was looking at her master. Yueffiel as a wisp of smoke came out of the sky.  
  
"I see you have found one of Beow's accomplices, good," his voice was high- pitched and could explode anyone's eardrum if he wasn't too careful. Illarion became white and Nadya shivered in the quiver at Illarion's feet. The fire seemed to give Yueffiel an iridescent look, making his appearance all the more frightening.  
  
Fiora was unfazed by the demon and looked into his gaping eye sockets. "Yes, m'lord. I have here Illarion, Beow's right-hand man." Yueffiel cackled once more. "All right then," he looked at Illarion then back to Fiora. His face became grave as he said," As much of an honor as this is, I have failed my own part in retrieving Beow. Our plans must change and we'll have to keep this elf," he spat on the ground." Alive and well so we can make an exchange for Beow himself. No doubt the earthen faith is reviving him as we speak."  
  
Fiora seemed to have been hit by an extreme blow. Her own master failed to perceive his own plan? She looked away from Yueffiel for a moment. Suddenly, the demon caught fire. Illarion and Fiora jumped back as purple flames engulfed him. "EEEEEEEEEEEYAAAAHHHH!" Fiora then saw them. Night Shades servants of Balkoth. They were also demons, but unlike Yueffiel, they had no facial features and had glowing yellow eyes.  
  
The flaming remains of Yueffiel fell to the ground, making the NightShades eyes glow like lanterns in the dark. They glided over to the fire, lifted their arms in unison, each forming a ball of purple flames above their hands. Illarion noticed another NightShade step out in front of the others.  
  
A voice sounded inside the heads of both Fiora and Illarion. Fiora, you are defying the order of Lord Balkoth, and interfering with the plan to bring the hafling, Beow to his Lordship. You are hereby sentenced to death... The voice faded from their heads and all became still. Fiora looked down at the remaining ashes of Yueffiel. She did not want to die like him.  
  
She looked up; Illarion placed himself between Fiora and the Nine NightShades. "If you want to kill her, you have to go through me." he said, spreading his arms out. The NightShades' eyes slanted. So be it... the voice said. The leader of the NightShades also lifted his hand above his head, but they never got to release their balls of fire.  
  
All the surrounding trees swung forth their branches, and knocked the wind out of all the NightShades. Fiora was astounded as the trees pounded down on the demons. She felt someone grab her shoulder. "Come on! We have to get out of here!" Illarion brought Fiora back to reality. "What? Oh right!" she followed the elf as he quickly lifted his gear and headed out with the fox at his heels.  
  
She didn't bother looking back. "So why are you helping me?" She asked. The elf turned to look at her. "I was hoping you could tell me," for a split- second, their eyes connected. Then Illarion looked away. "Come on, we can make it to the city!" he turned and ran through the trees. Fiora followed, but stopped suddenly. The elf had tripped over a root and was staring at the feet of 20 skeleton warriors.  
  
He scooted back and stood up next to Fiora. Illarion pulled out his bow, and Fiora pulled out a sword she had found among the remains of orcs and goblins. "Can you use that?" he asked turning to her. Fiora kept her eyes on the skeletons as they shifted into a battle position. "Can you with that?" she gestured toward his bow. The elf shook his head and locked an arrow. "Ready?" he said. "Ready," she replied. The battle began... 


	5. Party of Two

Fiora pauses only for a second before jerking Illarion to his feet and drawing out a magical staff made especially for this type of situation. "Änderung," she muttered and a long sharp blade appeared on the end of her staff. Fiora gave it an experimental twirl and grinned wickedly. "What is that thing!?!" Illarion growled as he reached for his bone-handled semitar. Fiora whirled her staff through the air and lobbed off a few of the skeletons' heads. "This is known as a gilgav, they use em allot where my fri- where someone I know lives," the gilgav decapitated a dozen skeletons, but there were still too many to handle.br  
  
Illarion focused his mind for battle, and then he slashed out with his semitar, hacking off 15 of the skeleton's heads. Still cutting down skeletons, he grabbed his boomerang and threw it. The boomerang swept round in a circle, separating 30 skulls from spinal cords before returning to his hand. Illarion hooked his boomerang into his belt, then grabbed out a handful of shrieken. He threw the shrieken, momentarily stunning several more skeletons, but that moment was enough. He swung his semitar round, slashing the heads off the skeletons that where stunned. He glanced over at the ninja, to see how she was doing...br  
  
Fiora decided to "change" her staff again. She brought her staff out horizontally in front of her and shouted "Änderung!" The staff glowed blue for a moment and separated in the middle. Fiora was now holding two ninja swords; one was silver with a red gem in the hilt, the other gold with a blue gem. Fiora became a living whirlwind storming through the skeletons and lobbing of heads with a wild fury. There was only one problem, this technique was very tiring...br  
  
A skeleton was trying to sneak up behind Illarion. Bad idea he thought, before he snapped the skeleton's head off. He then grabbed the fallen skeleton's battle-ax and swung it around wildly, hacking apart skeletons. He paused and reached for some more shrieken. "Great!" He muttered, "I'm outa shrieken!"br  
  
A panting Fiora appeared by Illarion's elbow and shoved a bag at him. "Here, take my shrieken, I don't need them," she turned and cut another skeleton down. Whipping her brow she gathered up a reserve of strength and ran yelling into another cluster of skeletons. She brought her kill count up to about 80 and leapt back to catch her breath. Just then a skeleton came up behind her and plunged a knife into her shoulder. The pain was blinding, but Fiora managed to bodily destroy the offending skeleton. She gathered her last shreds of strength and blasted at least half of the remaining skeletons to kingdom come before sinking to her knees.br  
  
Illarion noticed and ran over to help the ninja. "Man, this girl is still fighting even though she's on her knees, and can only use one arm, "He muttered. He started to cut down more skeletons, but it was pointless, there were too many. Then, he had an idea. He took his handmade explosives, some leftover bombs, and his last powder keg. Then he attached them together, and lit the fuse. Illarion tossed the explosive, grabbed the ninja by the arm, flung her behind a boulder, and leapt after her. The explosion was huge, but there were still ten more skeletons left. "Dang," he hissed, how could there possibly be any more of these guys?!? Suddenly there was a screeching sound, and the earth began to shake a little. "Great!" Illarion yelled," why did he have to come here when I'm in the middle of a battle?!" There was the sound of crunching bones, then silence.br  
  
"What the heck was that," Fiora groaned touching her shoulder experimentally. Illarion glanced at her, "What was what?" he asked nonchalantly. Fiora glared at him. "You know exactly what I mean. What's the thing that is on the other side of this rock?" He got up and turned his back on Fiora. "Oh, that thing. Well, it's a giant spider called bluefen." Fiora leapt to her feet. "What!?! You're joking right?" she grabbed Illarion by the shirt and spun him around to face her. Just at that moment 'bluefen' came around the rockbr  
  
"You idiot!" Illarion screamed. The gigantic spider leapt on Fiora and prepared to sink its rather large fangs into her neck. "Give him something to eat, quickly!" Illarion shouted frantically.br  
  
"Just kill it will you!?! I don't carry food on me I forage!" Fiora thundered. She punched the spider in one of its eyes and struggled to reach the dagger she kept in her belt.br "Here, give him this" Illarion shouted, tossing her an apple. Then he started talking to the spider, "hey, uh, Bluefen she wasn't trying to hurt me and, uh, if you get off of her she won't hurt you either," he said. Bluefen didn't seem to care, so Illarion quickly added, "and she'll give you an apple." Fiora grumbled and stopped trying to reach the dagger. br Fiora hastily offered the apple to the spider and he snatched it from her grasp, leaving a present behind. "Your spider just drooled all over me," Fiora ground her teeth, "give me one good reason not to strangle you." She whipped her on the grass beside her and stood up now the spider had gotten off her. She walked menacingly toward Illarion.br "Hey, um, let's not be too hasty here. You're injured we should go to Klay and get a healer," Illarion said hurriedly. Bluefen bent down and Illarion leapt onto his back. "Fine," Fiora said curtly and turned to leave. "Hey, I think you should come with us," Illarion hauled Fiora onto Bluefen. So I can keep an eye on her. After all she is out to kill me. Before he had more time to think his arm was twisted behind his back. "Don't touch me," Fiora said icily," and you may survive this trip. She released his arm and he straitened up. br "Whatever, oh yeah, I have one more thing to do. Yik yik yik Kiyee!," he cried suddenly. There was an answering cry, Yik yik yik Kiyee! Fiora scanned the surrounding forest suspiciously, "What sort of creature have you befriended this time?" br Illarion didn't answer, and suddenly there was a rustling sound coming from the tall grass to Illarion's left. Suddenly a ball of fur shot from the grass and snuggled in Fiora's lap. For an instant a smile spread across her face, then it was gone. "What on earth is this hunk of fat and fur?" She asked dryly. Illarion gripped Nadya around the middle. "She is not fat," he then proceeded to shake Nadya vigorously. A dozen of Fiora's small knives and a handful of coins fell out of 'the hunk of fat and fur'. br "How amusing," Fiora said wryly," a thief. At least she's good at it." Nadya whimpered and Illarion gave her back to Fiora. Then they began the trip to Klay. 


	6. Jailbreak

Katula awoke abruptly, finding herself in a dimly lit cell. Her first thoughts went to her spear, but when she reached for it she only only grabbed air and realized to her horror that it was gone, along with her mother's staff. She hopefully reached to her boot for her dagger, but that  
  
had been taken also.br  
  
She had also lost track of time. The night outside was pitch-black, meaning it could anywhere between midnight and five in the morning. This also meant Beow could have been revived anytime now. Her thoughts were suddenly driven to sounds outside. Walking cautiously to the door, Katula heard it. iSLASH!/i biClunk!/b/ibr  
  
The door clicked. Katula stood back as torchlight filled the cell. An elf stood in the doorway. He wore full body armor made of jet-black dragon scales, studded gauntlets, and a black headband. The torchlight reflected off his gauntlets and off his weapon. In his right hand was a spear Katula had never seen before. Its shaft was made of wood, turned black by what looked like dried blood. The head of the spear was shaped like a slim dagger, but had a an upturned hook on the upper half of the head.br  
  
The elf had silver-mercury hair that flowed past his shoulders, but stopped above his waist. But this was not what made the elf unique, no. It was his eyes. Glowing green eyes that pierced the darkness, fell upon Katula. She stood there awestruck by his features, only to catch herself staring at him, and turned away.br  
  
The elf spoke with an unnaturally warm voice, as if she was slowly being drawn to a warm fire. "Come with me." He turned and left Katula alone in her dark cell. She stood there for a moment, then decided that being with an elf was better than staying here.br  
  
She stepped into the corridor where the elf was waiting for her. The guard was sprawled on the floor, obviously dead. His keys were missing, but Katula found them in the door. The two then continued down the corridor and down a spiral staircase. There they passed more dead guards, and several doors branching off to other parts of the prison.br  
  
Katula worked up her courage and asked," Who are you?" The elf stopped and turned to face her. "I was sent here to escort you and the hafling to Balkoth in the south." Katula face went pale. She had promised she wouldn't fail in capturing Beow. She did. Balkoth had to send one of his men to help her. Sudden rumors flashed through her head of earlier assassins and their failure. She shuddered.br  
  
Suddenly, a wall to the left of Katula exploded. The elf twirled around and spotted a giant worm filling the staircase. The worm spotted Katula on the ground, and felt the need for some food. The worm lunged toward the fallen amazon and stopped. Its tongue fell to the ground, barely missing a kneeling elf. br  
  
The elf readied his spear once more, and went in for another attack, when a wall some feet down the staircase exploded.br  
  
Katula pulled herself up with her arms. Her legs had been pierced together with a marble slab when the wall exploded. She noticed the two worms, and crawled off to the side, hugging the wall, and watched as the battle between elf and worm commenced.br  
  
The elf dodged the worm's head as it came crashing down a few inches from him. He then leaped into the air, and brought his spear into the worm's head, sending purple blood everywhere. The worm reared up, making the elf clutch his weapon tighter, then collapsed to the ground, dead.br  
  
Placing his foot near the wound, the elf pulled out his bloodied spear, and faced the other worm, which was rushing up the steps. He stuck and his palm and smirked. A fireball erupted from his gauntlet and seared through the worm's head, leaving only a smoking neck to, like his comrade, collapse onto the stairs.br  
  
The elf jumped down from atop the worm's head and knelt beside Katula. He spotted the wound and said, "This is going to hurt a bit." He waited for Katula to give him a nod of approval, before pulling out the marble slab.br  
  
Katula cried out, and broke into a sweat. The elf tried to give her a warming smile, but Katula took one look at the gaping hole in her legs, and fainted. The elf took this as a chance to properly dress the wound, before healing it. Once he was finished, he gently placed his hands on her legs, and started to chant. The hole stopped bleeding at once, then slowly but surely, healed itself.br  
  
The elf opened his eyes and looked at Katula through his wet bangs. "Courtesy of Vijayendra." With that, the elf picked up Katula and carried her down the steps.br 


	7. Reunion

centeriuReuinion, Prologue/i/ubrbrcenter  
  
Katula opened her eyes. Everything was blurry, but she could make out a pair of green eyes. Sitting up, Katula came face to face with those eyes. "Umm..." she blushed. Vijayendra looked away and stood up. "I healed your wound," he mumbled. Katula looked down to see her legs where in perfect condition. "Thank you," she wobbled as she stood up. i What's the matter with me? I haven't been with this guy, what? 2 hours...? 3 hours...? How long was I passed out? /i "How long was I out?" she said. Vijayendra looked back at her. "Nearly seven hours," he replied.br  
  
Katula looked at her surroundings. Everything had a bluish-tint to it, as always in early morning. They were in an alleyway somewhere east of the prison. Lying next to her where her belongings. "How did you get them?" Katula knelt down to examine her belongings for any damage.br  
  
After making sure everything was there, she turned up to the elf. "I'm sorry. I've never asked you your name." Vijayendra's eyes warmed up. "Vijayendra. It means victory, my mother gave it to me." His warm glow seemed to fade as he spoke of his mother.br  
  
Katula looked at him, and decided to let him be. She shouldered her spear and hooked her staff onto her belt. "Well, shall we get a move on?" she said as she slid her knife into her boot. "Yes," Vijayendra snapped out of his thoughts. "Do you have an idea where this hafling might be?"br  
  
Katula became serious at once. "The Mage's tower." Vijayendra nodded and picked up his spear. "Lead the way." He extended his arm, pointing in the general direction of the tower. Katula paused, then proceeded down the alley. iRemember, don't let anything interfere with you your work.../ibrbr  
  
/centeruiReunion, Beow's condition/i/ucenterbrbr  
  
Gnimish squinted through the torchlight. He could barely make out the frozen carcass that lay before him. After battling the Orc army, he heard news of his leader's death. He didn't believe it at first, but after seeing the body, he gave in. He was astonished to learn his colleagues had some healing scrolls, so he decided to try them out. br  
  
The flames glazed Beow's body with a yellow shine. The reflection didn't faze Gnimish's concentration. He read the words with relative ease. They seemed to flow from his mouth and wrap themselves over the carcass. The body twitched, and some ice fell to the floor.br  
  
Gnimish continued the words, when a giant vibration filled the tower, and shook him to his knees. The torches fell to the ground and went out, leaving the two in complete darkness. Gnimish held outa palm and a flame erupted from his hand, and settled onto his fingers, spreading light into the room.br  
  
The wooden door burst open, putting the magical flame out. "What the?" Gnimish croaked. A hafling mage ran into the room and quickly shut the door once more. "Draconians! They've infiltrated the tower! They most have flown in while we were under siege with the orcs!" "DRACONIANS!" Gnimish yelped.br  
  
Draconians are half-human, half-dragon creatures that were combined together only by black magic. They used to be servants of Balkoth, but now only follow dragon overlords who seem to have the only power to control them. bR  
  
The hafling went to bolt-lock the door, when it was kicked open, smashing the creature into the wall. Gnimish could tell a draconian had entered the room. The stench was unbearable, and the yellow eyes were quite distinguishable. The pair fell on Beow...br  
  
/centeruiReunion/u/icenterbrbr  
  
The tower stood a few yards away. Katula took one look at it and smirked. The giant carved tower was completely overgrown with weeds and vines. It looked more run-downs then anything. The tower of the water faith was of sleek marble, and had sapphires decorating the interior and exterior, to give it a dewed sort of look.br  
  
Vijayendra nodded. The journey, all efforts, finally coming to a close. "All right then, let's not stop now," the elf took a step toward the tower. Suddenly, he fell to his knees, clutching his chest. Katula was at his side immediately.br  
  
"What's wrong?!" she asked frantically. She could hear the elf's heart beat echoing off the walls. Vijayendra didn't respond and shut his eyes tightly. His once silver hair started to turn a dark gray as sweat poured down his face and onto the ground. Katula felt helpless, listening to his heartbeat growing louder by the second. Then, just as it had come, the beating dropped to it's normal pace, and Vijayendra collapsed.br  
  
Katula pulled him up against a wall, and put a hand to his face. It was freezing. She ignored the burning sensation and tried to comfort the fallen elf. He finally opened his eyes and looked into hers. "I'm all right, really." His eyes seemed to glow weakly. "No you're not."br  
  
"Yes, just give me a minute," and with that the elf fell asleep. Katula retracted her hand and searched through her pouch for an herb. But just like he said, Vijayendra awoke peacefully and smiled. "There's no need, I'm fine." True enough, Katula felt his face and it was warm once more. His eyes had their regular glow again.br  
  
"OK, but at least eat this," she gave him an herb, which he respectfully took and ate. "Can we go now?" he stood up and picked up his spear. "I guess, but what was that?" she asked as she also stood up. "Nothing important," the elf cleared his throat and walked down the street.br  
  
Katula caught up with him at the end of the street. Vijayendra smiled once more as he waited patiently for the amazon to catch up. He quickly spun around as a voice sounded.br  
  
"You can't go in there," a voice said. The twos' eyes fell upon a Wood elf. His hair was pitch black, his face cleanly carved, and his eyes were of sky- blue. His maple bow hung elegantly on his back, along with a quiver containing a knife as well as arrows. But there was no mistaking the sword carried on his belt. He was of noble birth.br  
  
"I must go in there," Vijayendra's eyes slanted. "He is already captive, there is no way to save him from her majesty's clutches." the elf replied, stepping forward to block his path. "I don't care Kelevandros! I have to try! What if Balkoth receives him in his clutches?" The elf called Kelevandros spotted Katula. "And you saved her I see."br  
  
It clicked. The absence of the word "lord" before Balkoth, the warm voice, green foliage eyes, this was no servant of Balkoth. No. But who was he? Kelevandros turned to Vijayendra. "I can understand your concern, but this matter does not deal with ius/i. We have our own problems to deal with."br  
  
"I am bnot/b leaving here without the hafling." Vijayendra's voice became hard. "You can't! If her majesty finds either of us here, we're done for! You heard her call! She's trying to lure us out so she can slay us one by one!" the elf shrieked.br  
  
Katula stepped forward. Her sense of unease came to her the moment she stepped between the two "elves". "Listen, I have no idea what's going on and I have a right to know." Katula saw the two exchange glances. Kelevandros nodded.br  
  
The amazon looked at Vijayendra for an explanation. He briefly told Katula the story of Kelevandros's father and the spiders invading their village. "But when my mother fled," Kelevandros interjected. "She was pregnant with a son." "That son was me," Vijayendra finished. "My mother was dying after she gave birth to me. Her last words were directed to my brother. 'Take good care of Vijayendra'. " the elf's eyes watered slightly. Kelevandros finished the story. " I raised him. I taught him martial arts that were taught to me by my father. During his later years, he mastered the arts of a spear."br  
  
"What does that have to do with anything?" she demanded. "Katula, we were born in the village of Neihm. We are drakes." Katula's face went pale. "Of course drakes are just elves that were born with the ability to transform themselves into small dragons." Vijayendra said quickly. Kelevandros grabbed both of them and pulled them into the shadows.br  
  
In the pale light, the trio could see twelve Draconians flying towards the tower. "If you had gone in there, you wouldn't have made it out," Kelevandros's voice seemed somber at the thought of losing his only relative. "Why are you afraid of...who is this 'her majesty'?"br  
  
Kelevandros looked frightened. "Beryl. A green dragon overlord. She had our ancestors as her personal servants to do her dirty work. But soon, our ancestors found out what they were doing was horrible, so they broke away from Beryl. She lost control over them and tried to slay them at once, but her dragons and draconian goons didn't stand a chance against us. She finally made a deal with Balkoth and invaded our village with giant spiders."br  
  
"Wait. How old are you?" Katula asked Kelevandros. "A few thousand years old," he replied. She fell onto her back. Vijayendra gave her a hand. Katula realized that if her information on drakes was correct, Vijayendra was no more than a mere teenager!br  
  
"So what are you suggesting?" Vijayendra asked. "We can't be found, but maybe we can follow the Draconians." Kelevandros thought for a moment. Katula looked completely dazed and more confused then a gnome on whisky. "Look," Vijayendra faced the amazon. "The only way I could get you to come with me was if I told you I was sent here by Balkoth." Katula's became cold and stern. "Why am I with you? Why should I be around you? I'm out of prison, I'm an assassin, I could track down Beow myself!" she turned to leave but Vijayendra grabbed her arm. "I can't let you go. If Beryl finds you th-" "I don't give a damn about Beryl! I can take care of myself!" she pulled out her dagger and held it out with her free arm.br  
  
The elf could easily have taken her, but he let her go. "You have a right just like anyone else," he turned and went back to Kelevandros who had stood against the wall the whole time. Katula turned and headed towards the tower. Suddenly, a draconian swept out of the sky and grabbed her.br  
  
"Aaah!" she screamed. Her dagger in hand, she stabbed its foot. It screeched, but continued to hold on tightly. The amazon squirmed, but fell still as the draconian bit the back of her neck, sending her into blackness...brbr  
  
*************************brbr  
  
Vijayendra leapt after her but fell short as the draconian took flight. He threw his fists against the ground in frustration. He would go after her but one drake against twelve Draconians was not good. Especially since he was of a young age. Kelevandros ran to his brother.br  
  
"We will get her back, that I promise you." he knelt next to the elf. "Come, we must follow them." Vijayendra looked up. "Yes, let's go."br  
  
The looming tower exploded as glass and rock poured out of its windows, along with the rest of the Draconians. One carried a frozen carcass, another carried a gnome, and the rest carried some sort of artifacts. br  
  
The two elves covered their heads as they were showered with debree and glass. Fourtunently they weren't spotted, so they decided not to press their luck and stayed in the shadows for a while.br  
  
It wasn't long before the Draconians disappeared into the sunrise. The two stepped out in the open and went over their options. Not many, but there were few. Suddenly, a giant spider jumped out of an ally-way. The two elves drew their weapons and had them out before them by the time the spider finished its jump.br  
  
There were two riders on the spider. A female with black hair and reddish streaks spotted the elves before the driver did. The driver was an elf looking somewhat like Kelevandros, although his scars tended to blur his facial features.br  
  
"What happened?!" The elf yelled as he saw the busted tower. The brothers put sheathed their weapons. "A raid of Draconians," Kelevandros answered. The female nodded. "Yes, this does look like their handiwork."br  
  
"Listen, if your looking for the hafling Beow, he was taken away by the Draconians." Vijayendra pointed toward the east. "WHAT?!" the elf's face went pale. "We can help you retrieve him, in exchange for a ride on your spider."br  
  
Kelevandros flinched. "Why would you help us?" the elf replied. "The Draconians also took someone dear to us with them." Vijayendra continued. The elf thought about it then said, "Hop on." Vijayendra jumped onto the spider. Kelevandros reluctantly sat behind his brother.br  
  
"Onward!" the elf shouted. The spider scurried east, with 4 passengers and one furball who seemed quite attached to Kelevandros. So the journey east began...brbr 


	8. Survival of the Fittest

The Draconians flew down from the sky into a painful landing. The dirt road coughed up dust and debris as the 12 creatures crashed to the ground before brushing themselves off. They had landed in a village called Buck Nar; a barbaric town made of hay and straw huts with roughly made wooden buildings here and there. The leader of the Draconians motioned them to a pub, where they could relax and have a drink while waiting.br A few of the back Draconians helped another carry an amazon woman toward the hotel. The leader didn't mind, he was on his break, and had enough to worry about with the gnome and hafling. The leader's name was Karacass. He had a scar over his blind eye, and a disfigured snout. He received his wounds while battling for his lead position. He won with these injuries while his opponent didn't live long enough to count his.br The door to the pub swung open as the draconians swaggered in for a drink. Two of them threw the gnome atop a table, knocking over some glasses and scaring a few locals. Another two guarded the limp body of a hafling in the corner, daring someone to attempt to approach them. Karacass walked up to the bartender and ordered a few rounds for his "men".br The bartender was an old barbarian at the age of seventy. He wore a feathered headband to keep his grayish-white bangs out of his face, but the hair managed to flop over it. The rest of his hair fell short of below his ears, which were pierced with four earrings on each. His outfit was a leather tunic with fur trim that was taken from a doe.br The bartender backed away slightly as the draconian approached. The leader failed to observe his comrades in the corner were missing. Nor did he, or anyone else, notice the haflings body was missing, and two pools of acid bubbled at the base of the table.br It happened fast. Two arrows whizzed through the air and struck the Karacass in the back, making him screech in pain and shock. The other draconians jumped to their feet, weapons drawn. Two more went down before anyone noticed how dark the rafters where. Suddenly, the hafling and an elf jumped out from the shadows, swords blazing in the candlelight, as more draconians went down. The rest of the draconians rushed forward to meet their enemies.br Gnimish ripped a piece of wood out from underneath the table, and started to whack his two guards as the ruches began. Striking one behind the head and the other in the face, Gnimish twirled his stick around before repeatedly hitting his foes in the head.br Beow stuck his sword through a draconians chest, while Laurei sliced off one's head. He had awoken outside to find an elf standing over him. She was stern and made sure he heard her out before yelling his head off. The village used to be her second home, before it was raided by Beryl's minions and slaying off her only living bloodline. In favor of Beryl's pleasant deeds, Laurei had been terrorizing her troops in any way she could. Then today, she saw Beow, who had a reputation for rebelling against Balkoth, a frozen carcass. She wanted to help this mighty legend by getting him back on his feet. She killed the draconians with poisoned darts that worked effectively, and stole Beow's body. She knew how the trap doors in the walls worked, since she was a child, and used them in his rescue.br In return, Laurei requested some information about some matters. What matters, Beow didn't know, but decided to go along with her. He pulled out his sword with such strength, that his hilt struck the draconian behind him in the jaw. Beow had received his sword from the elf. She said she had found it and it was only good for haflings. Nagling, she had called it. Meaning slayer of evil.br Now the trick with killing draconians is simple, attack, retreat, new foe. The reason being when draconians died, they either turned to stone, embedding your weapon in rock, or to acid which could kill you on contact. Not only did Beow need to be cautious of the living, but the dead as well.br Gnimish got into the fight by picking up a table, and chucking it into the fray. The bad thing was, he hit Beow. The hafling dropped cold to the ground, barely missing the pool of acid to his left. A draconian stood over the unconscious creature, sword aloft, only to lose his head.br The elf panted through thick, wet hair. Only one draconian left. The creature decided to run, but she flung her sword into the creatures back before it left the doorway. It bubbled and melted to acid on the floor. Gnimish apologized and fed Beow an awakening herb, which took effect immediately. The elf and halfing glared at the gnome who only shrugged...brbr  
  
The noon sun cooked everything in sight. The trio stayed at the pub and cleaned it up for the shaking bartender as a way of saying sorry. The elf leaned on her broom. "Well, I haven't formally introduced myself. I am Laurei, Leader of Life," she held out a hand. Beow smiled. "Beow, Leader of Earth, and that goober over there is my second-in-command," he pointed to Gnimish who snorted and fiddled with his piece of wood. Laurie cocked an eyebrow. "Pleasure."br The halfling stopped dead. So did the other two. A bloodchilling roar filled the air with static. A dragon. The elf was the first out the door. She looked up into the sky and saw a giant red dragon headed toward the village. "Oh fiddlesticks. This can't be good," Gnimish mumbled. Beow broke into a sweat as dragonfear flooded his body and choked all happiness out of him. Laurei's lip trembled, but he managed to read it very clearly. "Run."br 


	9. Prisoner Once More

A bloodchilling roar filled her head. Katula sat up with a start. Her hands were in chains, and her eyes were blindfolded. Wait. She wasn't blindfolded; the room was pitch black. "Ah, looks like Shivanoshei arrived on time, not that it matters. I would have preferred to have time to play with our prisoner." A dark figure drew back a shade and light flooded the room. A draconian was sitting in a wooden chair out of reach of Katula, but close enough to smell his breath. In his hand he clutched Katula's spear.br  
  
"Lucky for you, anyway." the draconian stuck out his tongue and rolled it over his "lips". Katula winced in disgust. She decided to avoid looking at the pervert and examined her surroundings. She was on a feather mattress, for the draconian's was-to-be pleasure no doubt. Another chair was at her foot of bed, also made of wood. The window was on the rightside of the draconian and the door stood in the shadows.br  
  
"You know, if you even think about escaping, I'm supposed to take you dead," the creature stood up and pranced over to her. Katula flinched as a bony finger dragged itself over her cheek. "And we wouldn't want to hurt that precious skin, now do we?" Katula acted fast. She stuck a leg out past the draconian and kicked the tip of the chair.  
  
The chair flipped forward and struck the draconian in the back of the head. It grunted then slumped to the floor. "Women don't like uncivilized jerks like you. Learn some manners." Katula kicked the scaly mass then stepped on it as she walked over to her spear. Finding a knothole on the ground, Katula placed her spear in it and began slicing the chains with the spear tip.br  
  
IThe draconian spoke of a Shivanoshei, who or what is it?/I After a few minutes of working, the chains fell to the ground, giving Katula the opportunity to tend to her blisters.br  
  
She picked up her spear and headed through the door. A troop of draconians awaited her. They seemed surprised to see her come out alone. Obviously, they thought all the noises in the room was natural for...br  
  
Taking her chance, Katula screamed out words she had never known, and all the draconians froze in place, still stunned. Katula's hair fell down past her shoulders again. IWhat happened?/I she gasped. The only spell she had ever known was to drown all victims with her staff. But her mother's staff was gone, wasen't it? She looked down at her spear. The shaft gave a radiant blue glow, just as her staff had done. Is it possible? Her spear's glow died as time passed. She stood there for awhile, gawking at her spear. Another roar knocked her back to reality.br  
  
Katula shook her head and passed the frozen sculptures to the door. As she opened it, a mighty wind almost blew her back in again. A dragon stood towering in front of her, not looking all too happy. Then the dragonfear kicked in...br 


	10. Motivation is the Key

The grass stirred in the wind, flowing back and forth. The atmosphere was peaceful, quiet. Everything was undisturbed. That is, until it happened.  
  
A giant spider leapt from the shadows, sending broken pieces of wood and debris everywhere. Illarion patted the spider's head, telling it to stop. The spider skidded to a halt, sending a cloud of dust up and over the plain grass. Fiora shielded her eyes from the sun. "Are you sure this is where they came down?" she said, looking over the rippling grass. "Positive," Vijayendra leapt off the back of the spider. His armor clanked together as he landed. "My eyes never fail me."  
  
Kelevandros smiled. "You know there was that one time-" "Oh shut up!" Vijayendra interrupted. He looked towards the sun, hoping to find the draconians' landing place. "There! I see it!" he started to run. "Wait Vijayendra!"  
  
Kelevandros struggled to get off the spider, but discovered if you tap the spider's leg above the third joint; it slants downward, forming a slide.  
  
He plucked the furball off his arm and tossed the Elven driver his kit. The roar was what directed them all in the direction of Vijayendra's dash. A flying creature blocked out the sun, revealing a shabby looking village placed roughly in the middle of the plain. But of course Kelevandros didn't see the village, for he was to busy looking at the dragon.  
  
"Brother, come back!" he yelled to the silver spec on the vast sea of grass. Vijayendra ignored his brother's call, and thought of only one thing. Katula...  
  
Katula looked at the dragon's pupil. The glowing red pupil. It was the color of fresh blood, surrounded by blackness she has never seen before. A blackness that sucked you dry, and replaced your empty body, with a chill that will not go away. A chill that will haunt you for the rest of your days.  
  
Katula stared into the dragon's eye, completely drawn to it, or hypnotized, one of the two. Her body was sweating, even though it felt frozen. Her hair clotted with her sweat, making her head itch. But nothing mattered, just that big gaping eye. Her ears were the only things that worked. She heard the dragon open its mouth. She heard the stretch of its saliva, as it dropped to the ground in a thick, heavy glob of spit. The sound of its muscles tightening, the sound of a hallow echoing of a digestive system. The sound of her breath resounding off its tongue.  
  
The eye suddenly became its throat. Her mind snapped back into action, but it was too late. She remembered though, yet another sound. A sound of a voice. A voice calling her. A voice beckoning her. A voice that grew faint, as the blackness became strong.  
  
Kelevandros shook his head. He will surely perish if I don't do something! The elf was panicking. If he went running after his brother, he would meet the same fate as Vijayendra. But if he stayed and watched, he would regret it for the rest of his life. Kelevandros clenched his fists. His knuckles turned white, and his feet sunk deeper into the grass.  
  
FLASH!  
  
His father looked down at him over his cradle's edge and smiled. " Kelevandros, my son, I am honored to have you become the Prince of Drakes. I am proud of you, and know you will do great things when you come of age..."  
  
FLASH!  
  
Kelevandros swung his wooden sword and struck the dummy. Hay and straw exploded and stuck to his clothes and hair. His mother said he looked like a living scarecrow, but his father said he looked like a man. After bathing in the river, his father came up to him and pulled out his wooden sword. "You think you can take me on?" Kelevandros smiled. "You bet!" His father chuckled at the elf's enthusiasm. "Just don't tell you mother okay?"  
  
FLASH!  
  
The elf scrambled to his feet. His father stood straight up and sheathed his sword. Kelevandros had just been attacked by a wild boar. His father heard his cries for help and slaughtered the pig before its tusks struck home on Kelevandros's back. "I want to grow up and be just like you!" he said...  
  
FLASH!  
  
The spiders burst through his doorway and into his room. Kelevandros picked his wooden sword up off its rack and swung it into the spider's head. The arachnid flipped and smacked into the wall dead. Kelevandros ran outside and saw utter chaos. Homes were on fire; elves were fighting, and bodies of spiders' lay everywhere. He stared at the battlefield where two elves used their drake magic to defeat a group of spiders. His family was nowhere to be found.  
  
Before he knew it, a spider was right behind him, the leader. It was ten times the size of the regular sized spiders. His father came out of nowhere, and pushed him to the side. The spider's fangs sunk deep into the drake's leg, the venom immediately taking effect.  
  
His father pulled out his real sword and manages to slice out one of the spider's main eyes. It retched with pain, and knocked the elf to the side. Kelevandros dashed to his father's side. "FATHER! FATHER!" he felt his father's pulse, but it had stopped. Tears streamed down his cheeks. He felt hands on his shoulders pulling him away. His mother...  
  
FLASH!  
  
His mother lay in bed, dying from a disease. His brother, Vijayendra weeping at his side. A royal guard took him outside by his mother's request. Now he was alone with his mother. She looked at him straight in the eye. "Please take care of him for me..." she croaked. Kelevandros knelt by her bedside. "I will, I promise...."  
  
FLASH!  
  
He had taken care of his little brother, ever since. He had trained him in the art of a spear, he had watched him transform into a drake for the first time ever, he had saved him from many evil creatures over the years, he had watched him mature and become a man, he had been a big brother...  
  
Kelevandros relaxed. I have been a big brother. I am a big brother. Why stop now? If I must die, then I will die as a warrior, like my father before me. The elf looked at the hardship before him and smirked...  
  
The trio dashed through the grass. Have to get away! Have to get away! Laurei panted. Gnimish huffed and puffed behind Beow, his cane clanking with every step. Beow peeked behind him and saw the dragon standing in the center of the village. He slowed, then stopped. This was not a smart idea. Gnimish smacked into his back with a small squeak.  
  
"Hey! Wait for a second!" Beow called out, ignoring his fallen comrade. Laurei turned to look behind her and stopped. "What are you doing?! We need to get far away from the village as we can! He cannot find us!" Beow pointed a thumb back towards the village. "I think he found, what he was looking for." Laurei examined the dragon's movements. It was standing all right, but what has it found? Gnimish shrieked and pointed a finger to the sky. Another dragon decided to join the party. 


	11. Rage is Not to be Taken Lightly

The dragon lifted its head in pain. The terrible agony and stinging in the creature's eye was unbearable. Shivanashei shook her head to free herself of the scorching spec that has blinded her left eye.  
  
Vijayendra leapt clear of the thrashing dragon, and cleaned his spear. Katula lay in a heap in the corner, safe, for the time being. Vijayendra need not worry for her, for his true enemy stood before him.  
  
The dragon spotted the elf standing in her shadow through her good eye. She knew pretty well that she would never be able to see through her eye again. Blood continued to flow down her cheek, and poison her mouth with its thick texture.  
  
Shivanashei calmed herself and focused her full attention to the one who had crippled her vision. But something stirred in the air. Her nose picked up the scent of another life form, besides the assassin and the attacker. Another dragon...  
  
Vijayendra stood perfectly still. He closed his eyes and let the wind blow through his hair and fill his ears. He was at peace. He knew it was better to have loved, than to never have loved at all. He was willing to sacrifice his life just to know that Katula may live to see another day. He smiled. Vijayendra recalled the beauty of his fair maiden, weak and helpless in his arms. Of course it didn't last long, but it was worth the few moments that he's had. It was time to set the balance back into their lives.  
  
Opening his eyes, Vijayendra sheathed his spear into his back sheath. Placing his palms together, he called the unearthly tongue of magic, " Retoleth Geh huyernas" his eyes glowed a radiant green, " Felnad ohg mea tok na neth!" With that said, he threw out his arms, and out flashed a purple dome. The dome expanded, and adjusted itself to fit in the surrounding area.  
  
The dome surged forward past the dragon, and stopped a few yards behind the tip of its tail. Looking to the side, Vijayendra saw the brown and green figure sleeping within inches of the barrier edge. The barrier covered a few acres to the east, away from Katula, and encasing a number of buildings. A perfect battlefield.  
  
Vijayendra dropped his arms to his side. Suddenly, a large booming sound echoed inside the dome. The dragon and drake both looked up to see a blue dragon ramming itself into the barrier. It's no use, my brother. This is how it must be; Vijayendra wrapped his hands around his spear, and tightened his grip, the sound of lightning breath heard above. Take care of Katula for me.... The elf charged head long into the dragon, eyes glowing...  
  
Shivanashei snatched her head away from the dragon, and to her prey. The little mite was charging her, not to wise. The dragon lifted off the ground, sending dust and dirt everywhere. The cloud didn't phase the elf's accuracy a bit. He threw his spear right into her leg, piercing through her thick scales, and penetrating her flesh.  
  
Furious at the increased wounds, the dragon dropped from the air, and snapped at the elf with her jaw. Vijayendra dodged it, easily and pulled out his spear as the leg passed over. He completely forgot about the tail.  
  
Out of nowhere the tail smacked into his side, and sent him flying into the next street. He turned his landing into a roll, and stopped when he ran into a building. His vision became blurred, as his bandanna snapped in two and dropped his bangs into his eyes.  
  
He wiped his hair out of his eyes just in time to see a river of fire extending to him. Quickly crossing his arms in front of his face, a barrier covered the front half of his body. The fire struck the shield with such great force; his feet (which were dug firmly into the ground) began sliding backward.  
  
The flames stopped, and Vijayendra lowered his arms. The elf stared down the open throat of the dragon. IT WAS A DISTRACTION! He felt a heavy tongue swoop him up and push him to the back of the mouth. "YAAAH!" Vijayendra thrusted his spear into the top of the mouth, almost completely hanging above the pitch black hole. The spear snagged onto the muscle, and caused the dragon to almost cracked his skull with its scream. The wind from the scream shifted his dangling body almost completely horizontal. He would hang on, but the mix of the blood and saliva made his spear too slippery.  
  
His body flew once more; catching onto a jagged tooth which sliced his arm open. The elf crashed through a roof, sending wooden shards into his body. He collapsed in a mangled heap in what used to be a cleric's house. I can't move... he thought. His lungs gasped for breath, as it seemed a piece of wood had stabbed it. The muscles and tendons refused to work, so the only choice was to stay where he lay.  
  
A loud gagging noise could be heard through the hole he had just made in the roof. If I'm lucky, my jab not only pierced its fire sac, but managed to get to its brain. His breathing slowed, and his heart rang in his ears. He closed his eyes one last time knowing that he had protected his loved one to the end... 


	12. A Battle Won, A Battle Lost

The dragon twisted its head back and forth in agony. The spear had indeed gone to the brain and Shivanashei knew it. These were her last moments alive.  
  
The barrier faded and disappeared completely. The blue dragon rushed into the arena, heading straight for the enemy dragon. "HEEEYAAAAARRRRRRR!!!" The blue dragon extended his claws out and lunged for the dragon's head. Shivanashei was too tired to move, death was upon her and she welcomed it. The blue clapped his claws together, compacting the dragon's skull to nothing, blood and gore gushing everywhere. The blue's eyes grew bright red in vengeance and bellowed into the morning light.  
  
The dragon released his claws, letting the raison-looking skull crash into the ground below on top of its body. The dragon dropped to the ground as well. His feet touched the ground, and in the dragon's place, Kelevandros kneeled.  
  
He looked up. The sun rose behind the splintered home that his brother fell. Kelevandros watched the whole battle, desperately trying to break through the barrier. His brother's stubbornness was the only thing that kept him from saving himself. The elder brother was helpless; there was nothing he could do. Nothing. The elf wept where he knelt.  
  
Illarion stirred the soup he had made. How long have they been gone? What are they doing? Better yet, how are they? He forgot long ago about the rest of the soup that's over the fire, now burnt to a crisp. Fiora slept peacefully on a few blankets he had found on his spider. Nadya was also asleep on Fiora's chest, slowly rising and lowering with every one of Fiora's breaths.  
  
The morning fire reflected off her skin, giving her a warm glow, that Illarion was too occupied to notice. His bowl of soup splashed onto his pants as he stirred too hard. "Ach!" He jumped up and cleaned it off with some water from a pouch. The smoke caught his attention.  
  
Leaving his mess behind, Illarion ran to the smoking pot and lifted it off the fire with an extra blanket. He placed it in the sand and tipped it over. "What a waste of good food..." he grumbled.  
  
The grass closest to him stirred. The elf jumped and grabbed his boomerang. The rustling grew louder, and he gripped the weapon even tighter. A pointed hat erupted from the grass, startling Illarion and causing him to trip over the pot and awake the whole camp.  
  
Gnimish blinked. "Is that you Illarion?" The elf stood up and adjusted his shirt. "Yep, that's him all right!" a voice yelped in happiness behind the gnome. Beow pulled back the grass and revealed his face. Illarion gave a bright smile and laughed. "You again?"  
  
The two midgets stepped into the sandy clearing and bowed. "It's great to see you Illarion." Beow continued. Illarion knelt on one knee. "It's great to see you too, master."  
  
Beow saw movement behind the elf and picked up his sword. "Behind you!" he yelled. Illarion whipped around and found Fiora standing behind him. "Oh!" she yelled at the sight of the hafling. She picked up some firewood and held it like a club, poised for a fight. "If a fight you want, a fight you'll get!"  
  
Illarion quickly stepped between them, arms out. "Whoa! Whoa!" He turned to Beow. "It's okay, she's on our side." Beow gave Fiora a look, then lowered his weapon. Fiora did the same. "This is Fiora, of the Fire faith." Illarion started to sweat at the tensity. If a brawl came, whom would he defend? His master or his love?  
  
Gnimish spat in the ground. "No person of the fire faith is a friend of mine. These traitors broke from the Great One and created their own faith, persecuting the faith of Earth. There's no way in Hades am I going to trust her, nor stand near here. I'm going to sleep with one eye open from now on!"  
  
"Hold on!" Beow shouted. "You said you're name was Fiora correct?" The girl nodded. "I think I've seen you before, years back. Yes. I remember now. You were the little one who mother..." he broke off. Fiora shifted uncomfortably. "Wait, you know her?" the elf was shocked.  
  
"Yes, a long time ago, Balkoth's forces were invading a town of Kamiya. A merchant town. Gnimish and I brought our own forces to defend the city. The magic was intense, too powerful. Gargoyles filled the air, chaos laid everywhere. We put up a good fight, but it wasn't enough. The town was overtaken in less then a fortnight. But I do remember one night; a bunch of Nightshades broke into a home. I saw them and followed. They discovered a family of three. A mother, father, and a daughter.  
  
'They slayed the father before the girls eyes. I came to late for him, but then they turned to the mother. I pulled out my bow to slay the one that held the mother in its claws. I let the arrow fly. The nightshade dodged it and the arrow struck the mother. The girl fled in tears. Leaving the nightshades to turn to me next. I slayed them all in my rage with my sacred knife."  
  
A tear dripped down Fiora's face as the story ended. Beow faced the ground. "I thought I had perfect aim, accuracy, but I was too slow. Because of me, Fiora's parents are dead..." Fiora chipped in. "Yes, I blamed you for the death of my parents. I learned the ways of a ninja, hoping one day to find you and slay you. But as years went by, I found out it was all Balkoth's doing from the start. Then, your name came up when I asked what Balkoth wanted so much to find. I figured I could slay you in order to hurt Balkoth, take his glory, then slay him next. Current events has come to change the way I think." She burst into tears, a side Illarion has never seen before. He was immediately at her side, and she cried into his chest, much to his enjoyment.  
  
Gnimish, who had listened to the story intently the whole time, decided to add his fair share. "You said the Nightshade dodged your arrow correct?" Beow nodded. "I saw how you shot back then. Nothing could be faster then your arrow, I know that." "No Gnimish, don't try to butter me up. It won't change the fact that her parents are dead. "Beow sat down in the dirt.  
  
"No, here me out. I've heard of Nightshade experimentation before." Beow looked up. "It is most likely you were facing mutated Nightshades. If that were true, then nothing in this land could have been faster then them."  
  
The conversation stopped. Everyone looked to the East to see the source of sound. Two elves approached the campsite carrying bodies. One carried a woman on her back, and another brought a silver-haired elf.  
  
Laurei and Kelevandros stepped into the campsite, looking worn. "Laurei! Where have you been?" was the first thing to come out of Gnimish's mouth. Illarion and Fiora, however, stared mournfully out the body Kelevandros held. Vijayendra... 


	13. Departure of the Fellowship

Katula blinked a couple of times before her emerald eyes fluttered gently open. She looked up at an elf leaning over and vaguely remembered a name. Kelevandros? Didn't he have a brother called. VIJAYENDRA!!!!! She sat up with a start, almost knocking over Kelevandros in the process. She quickly scanned the camp and didn't even care that her assassin target was standing less than ten feet away from her. She only had eyes for the silver-haired body lying across the fire from her. It all came back in a rush. the draconians, the dragon, and that voice that broke the dragonfear from her. She had no doubt at all now that the voice had indeed been Vijayendra. coming to save her. Katula made a quick half-crawl across the camp, hardly noticing the campfire burning her leg as she crawled too close. She quickly looked away from her love when she saw all the wounds across his body, but forced herself to look again. His eyes were closed, his beautiful green eyes that so perfectly matched her own. She gently picked up his torso and began to weep into his chest. That was her only comfort, after her mother had been killed, she had never had feeling for anyone except Vijayendra. no one around the camp even tried to sooth her, they knew too well the pains of death, and left her alone in her grief.  
  
"Thank you for loving him." Katula was so wrapped up in her pain she hadn't even noticed Kelevandros walk over, a mistake she would have kicked herself for at any other time. "All it did was kill him." Katula's thought brought more tears, and she struggled to hold them back. "No, it didn't, you made him a happy man, even in his last few minutes, I know he found comfort with you. You know what he said to me before he died? He said, 'take care of Katula for me'." The similarity between this and what his mother said to Kelevandros brought a few tears to his eyes.  
  
Katula gently brushed back Vijayendra's mercury bangs and traced a finger around the curve of his chin. She then stood up so abruptly Kelevandros nearly fell again. She turned a gaze full of icy rage upon Beow, her target that had started it all, her only failed mission. The gaze was so powerful, everyone staggered back a few steps, even the people standing behind her. "Beow." the single word seemed to hold the hafling in place and she began a slow walk over to where he was standing. "Beow, this is all... YOUR FAULT!!!" She was nearly upon him now, and lunged at him with her dagger. She then felt a rock-hard pain in her side, and then fell into what she realized was a rock, thus hurting her other side just as much. She lay there for a moment, catching her breath, and staring icy spears into the eyes of the woman elf across from her, as Laurei placed her boot in the dust after landing a powerful kick.  
  
Katula spat into the dirt, "You had no right to interfere! It IS his fault! If he hadn't started his doomed-to-fail rebellion in the first place, then I wouldn't have had to kill him, I wouldn't have gotten thrown in prison, and I wouldn't even had met." Her voice trailed off when she realized that her life without Vijayendra had been Hell, that he had been a beacon of light in her life, and that she would have rather died than had even lived without him. "DAMNIT!!!" This sent a new wave of emotion over her, and she wept into the dirt.  
  
***  
  
Kelevandros watched as Katula's chest rose and fell,silently dozing. She cried herself to sleep almost five hours ago. The group decided to set up camp here for tonight, nowhere else to go. Laurei went back to her villiage to see what helping hand she could lend. The rest of the group sat around the fire. Gnimish and Beow bickering over some left over morsels, Fiora asleep on Illarion's shoulder, his arm wrapped delicatly around her, and Katula sleeping near him. The spider was off hunting somewhere.  
  
Kelevandros thought of his future. His past was Vijayendra, but what was he to do now? He could join Beow's rebel group or he could...That's it!  
  
Kelevandros stood up and grabbed his pack. Everyone stopped to look at him. "Where are you going?" Illarion asked, a puzzled expression forming on his face. Kelevandros gazed over the darken night sky. He sighed, then looked at Illarion, his eyes as warm as the fire. "To settle the score."  
  
With that he faced North and walked out of the camp. "Wait," Illarion slowly stood up, Fiora's head sliding to the ground and landing softly on Illarion's blanket.  
  
"Why are you going that way?" Illarion wondered. Kelevandros stopped. "The dragon came from that direction. I assume Beryl's Lair is that way." "You're not serious?"  
  
Kelevandros looked over his shoulder and smiled. "Goodbye my friend, You've been a great help." Illarion was speechless. When Kelevandros turned to leave, he came eye to eye with Katula.  
  
"You are not leaving without me." Her voice was firm, her decision already made. Kelevandros looked at her hard, but she didn't flinch. He sighed once more. "Alright, pack your things, we leave now." Katula held up her bag. "Already done." Kelevandros scratched his head. "I'm suprised."  
  
***  
  
Beow yawned and stretched. Boy, was that a rough day or what? He noticed everyone was awake. "Good morning," he said. The others returned his greeting, but half-heartedly. The morning was gray, and the fire was burnt out. The somber mood seemed to be thick over everyone's heads.  
  
After breakfast (Fiora cooked that morning, much to everyone's delight) Beow packed his things and pulled out a walking stick. "Come along Gnimish, the day is young and we have much land to cover." The chef was astonished. "You're leaving too?" "Much to your dissapointment, yes. You see, I was a busy hafling before I was frozen, so now I have much work to catch up on." Gnimish walked from behind a tree after fuffiling nature's call. "We received news of Balkoth's trade route. It was recently discovered by a spy of ours." he croaked.  
  
"We're going to do some Robin Hood business." Beow added. "It would be to much to ask from you, plus it's easier with fewer people, so we didn't want to trouble you..."  
  
Illarion put down his soup. " I'm still part of the gang, you know." He said huffely. Beow smiled. "Yes, and for that, here." The hafling pulled out a satchel and threw it to the elf. "That should be enough pay." "For what?" Fiora asked quickly, hoping Illarion didn't have debts.  
  
The elf approached the woman and knelt down on his knees. "My darling Fiora, will thoult be my wife?" Fiora gasped. She regained herself and gave the elf a big kiss on the forhead. "Yes."  
  
"And how long did you spend writing that lovly speech?" Gnimish laughed. "Since the day I met her," he replied. The couples eyes locked, and love surrounded the encampment.........  
  
And so, the group known as Beow's Rebellion parted their own ways, Kelevandros and Katula to the wretched lair of Beryl to seek revenge,  
  
Beow and Gnimish to continue their work against Balkoth by stealing some goods,  
  
and Fiora and Illarion to the city, Klay for their marriage. Who knows what lays in store for them in the future? Only time will tell...  
  
"Uh...guys?" Laurei examined the deserted camp. 


End file.
